Love At First Fight
by embracing-shadows
Summary: ."You called him a CSI wannabe? He heard you." Nick had no idea how much saying those words would change his life.


Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!

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A locker banged shut just as Nick stepped in to the room, and he looked up to see Warrick, Catherine, and Greg all standing there, the youngest of the three shrugging on his jacket and ready to leave. Catherine and Warrick were both standing by the bench chatting casually about something Nick wasn't all that curious about. The two talking looked up when he came in and gave him a short wave each before returning to their discussion. The other man in the room, however, appeared to ignore him.

"Hey Greg," Nick greeted his friend after waving back to the others. He was totally unprepared to find himself on the brunt end of a deadly glare, the old adage about looks that could kill popping in to his head. The blonde glare-master gave an angry snort before turning and wordlessly leaving the room. Nick gawked after him, a stunned expression gracing his features. For a long moment he just stared at the empty doorway. When he finally found his head he turned to find his two friends watching him with wry expressions, shaking their heads. He made some sort of nonsensical questioning noise. Catherine sighed and stopped shaking her head in favor of placing her hands on her hips and raising an unsympathetic eyebrow.

"He heard you," she told him. The Texan blinked uncomprehendingly and she sighed again. "You called him a CSI wannabe? He was standing right outside the door." Nick felt his stomach drop down to the floor and his chest constrict painfully. He gaped at her in chagrin before turning and bolting down the hallway that led to the garage. For some reason, the lab seemed to be extra busy tonight, and there were dozens of people who all seemed to want to get in his way as he tried to reach Greg before the blonde got to his car. Finally he managed to push his way past a tight knot of temporary technicians, brought in to help Mandy process an overload of prints, and he burst out in to the parking lot breathing heavily, looking around wildly and hoping against hope that Greg was still here.

Luck gave him a small break as he spotted Greg moodily stomping towards his small silver car halfway across the lot. Nick gave a huge sigh and started jogging forwards again.

"Hey Greg! Wait!" he called, wondering why he even bothered. Greg reacted exactly as Nick had expected him to: he looked back, snorted, and looked forward again, quickening his step to escape the approaching Stokes. Nick, however, also sped up, and he reached his friend just as the blonde reached his car. He took the younger man by the arm to get him to stop, but was cut off from the apology he was about to give when Greg exploded in his face.

"It _great_ to find out that I mean so much to you!" the young man shouted loudly. "I know I'm a little overeager to help you guys sometimes but if I'd known that you thought it was so stupid, I wouldn't have bothered! Jesus Nick! I can't believe I ever fancied myself in _love_ with you, you fucking jerk! I work just as hard as you, do you know that? No you don't! You're just up on your little cloud of perfection, _perfect little Nick Stokes_, never does a thing wrong, never offends anyone, never a bad word to say. You know, until it comes to the wannabe Greg Sanders, can't do a thing right, manages to offend the whole lab with two words, and apparently isn't even allowed to dream of doing something more than processing samples for the rest of his_ fucking life_!" He paused to take in huge gulps of air, glaring with an intensity previously unachieved by anyone. Nick could only stare, his mouth hanging wide open. Greg spat on the ground and wrenched his arm away from Nick's suddenly loose grip. "Just stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours. Seems as if you'd like it better that way anyhow."

Nick could do nothing as Greg walked away, throwing his kit in to the back of his car violently and then dropping in to the driver's seat as if exhausted. He did have to scramble to get out of the way when Greg started to back up, and the squeal of the tires as he pulled out at top speed shook Nick out of his trance. He turned and bolted to his truck, his hand going to his pocket for the car keys only to realize that they were in his locker, and he'd never made it past the door of the locker room on the first time around.

This time when Nick ran through the halls it was as if the whole building were deserted. There was no one around to get in his way, but Catherine and Warrick were still in the locker room when he crashed through the door. They tried to ask him what was happening, where the fire was, or something to that effect, but he didn't even bother to listen let alone answer as he grabbed his keys and wallet and ran back out. His own truck tires squealed even louder than Greg's had when he pulled out, and he hit very little traffic on the way. It had been a few months since he and Greg had hung out after work but he remembered the way with no trouble at all. Soon enough he was pulling in the parking lot and in his hurry he almost forgot to lock his doors.

Fate smiled on him once more when someone walked out just as Nick was walking in, and they held the door open for him without even asking if he lived in the building. Thanking all his graces Nick headed in to the stairwell, knowing full well that Greg would have taken the elevator. Two floors of staircases winded him a little, but he burst out on to Greg's floor just in time for Greg to stop walking, narrowly avoiding running in to him. They stared at each other in mild astonishment for a moment, Nick panting, before the Texan found his voice first.

"You're in love with me?" he demanded. Greg regained his footing then, and his eyes narrowed down to angry slits.

"I _was _in love with you," he corrected the older man. "That was before I found out just how little you think of me." He made to walk away but Nick blocked his path determinedly.

"So you really have feelings for me? Like…like that kind of feelings?" He tried to clarify. Greg expelled a very exasperated breath of air and threw his hands in the air, almost sending his keys flying off in a random direction.

"Do I need to spell it out for you Nick? Yes, ok? I have feelings for you. I'm gay, and I have feelings for you. I'm only ever eager to help _you_, and I only ever try and impress _you_, and now I'd like to get away from _you_ because…" he faltered as he met Nick's gaze, and the Texan could see the pain glazing over his eyes. "I don't need this conversation again, Nick, why are you here?" All of the energy seemed to flow right out of his body all of a sudden, and he seemed to deflate. The guilt that had been building in Nick's chest doubled and he felt very ashamed.

"God Greg I'm sorry I…I don't know why I said it…is there any way…I mean could you ever…can I make it up to you somehow?" he finally asked in a very small voice. Greg looked at him sadly.

"Nick, there's honestly nothing you can do," he said. Then he turned and moved around Nick, sifting through his keys to find the right one and opening his apartment with tears gathering in his eyes. He swung the door shut behind him, but the expected thud never came. Only half curious, he looked over his shoulder to see that Nick's big hand had caught the door and he was following Greg in to the apartment. Defeated, sad, and just wanting to be alone, Greg opened his mouth to ask the older man to go away. He was cut off by a hand held up in the air.

"I could do this," Nick offered quietly, crossing the space between them. Greg had no time to prepare as Nick reached him and their lips crashed together in an unexpected first kiss. Instinctively he brought his hands up to catch the older man, slowing the momentum his approach had created but at the same time pulling their bodies closer together. Nick moaned lowly and cupped both of Greg's cheeks, tilting their heads to the perfect angle to deepen the kiss further.

Greg found himself backed up against the wall and decided after a moment's consideration that he really didn't have a problem with that. He groaned in response when Nick pressed his body up against Greg's, so close that they could feel each other's heartbeats. Nick's hands buried themselves in Greg's hair while the younger man grabbed hold on the Texan's belt loops, hanging on for dear life and only barely clinging to his sanity. He almost whimpered when Nick's lips trailed away from him mouth to burn a path of open-mouthed kisses across his jaw then down his neck, suckling on his collarbone.

"I'm still mad at you," he whispered, barely able to make the words come out. He was slowly losing himself in a haze of pleasure and this was the kind of drowning he would love to die from.

"I know," Nick replied, nipped at the tender skin of Greg's shoulder then laving it with his tongue before pulling Greg's t-shirt off and extended his trail of kisses even lower.

"Very mad," Greg insisted half-heartedly.

"Uh huh," Nick agreed absently as he reached a nipple, biting down ever so gently then swirling his tongue around it and flicking it with the tip. Greg gasped.

"Do that again," he breathed, now completely lost to the man pinning him against the wall of his own home. He let his head fall back and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes as both his nipples received lavish attention. His breath was harsh in his throat as Nick kissed the hem of his jeans, making him moan wantonly, then he found lips against his own again and he kissed back eagerly. A tongue brushed his lower lip and he granted entrance immediately, his own tongue dueling with Nick's for dominance, at the same time knowing that he was going to give in.

When Nick's hands began sliding up and down his sides Greg had to break the kiss to throw his head back again, gasping for air that suddenly seemed scarce. He moaned as Nick started to attack his neck again, heading strait for the sweet spot just at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Instinctively he pressed his hips forward and was almost surprised when Nick ground him back in to the wall with a roll of his own hips. Their erections rubbed against each other, making Greg shudder and moan again.

"No idea – oh god – you swung this way Nick," the blonde managed to say, shaking lightly all over while Nick traced his sides with a feather light touch. The deep chuckle that met his ears was like music and he bit his lip against the feeling in his chest.

"To be perfectly honest I don't, never slept with a guy before," came Nick's muffled answer.

"I could fix that for you if you like," Greg offered, intentionally trying to keep his tone cheeky and light. He almost fainted on the spot when Nick pulled away from ravaging Greg's neck and looked him straight in the eye while he answered. He looked absolutely gorgeous out of breath and slightly ruffled, but it was his words that blew Greg away.

"Never wanted to until now, there's something about you Greg…" he didn't bother finishing his sentence, just grabbed Greg by the shoulders and pulled him away from the wall. They stumbled down the hall together towards the bedroom, where Nick half threw Greg down on to the bed. He crawled up between his legs with a predatory look in his eye and the younger man could only stare at him in awe. "You can be mad at me tomorrow," the Texan muttered lustily as he claimed Greg's lips again, his hands working at the button of his jeans. Greg floated in a haze, trying to figure out why the hell he would possibly ever get mad at this man. Somehow he was able to remember something about an insult or something along those lines but it didn't seem so terribly important anymore.

"Tomorrow," he agreed, his own hands fumbling to undo Nick's shirt. He pushed it off the older man's shoulders, groaning loudly at the chest and muscles exposed to him. Both their pants disappeared moments later and Nick ground their erections together, unable to wait any longer, needing the friction. Greg arched up in to him and gasped as they began rocking together. Nick's moans joined his and he almost fell over the edge just from those noises.

The heat gathered and rose until Greg couldn't take it anymore. He made some sort of senseless noise as he tore Nick's boxers off and plunged his hand down, grasping Nick at the base of his shaft and pumping slowly with a firm grip. Nick cried out and his eyes shot open to stare in to Greg's. He was almost stunned by the beautiful picture the blonde made with his hooded glazed eyes and parted lips, sweat lingering on his brow. Panting, Nick shakily peeled away Greg's shorts as well, hesitating only for a brief fraction of a second before taking him in his hand and mimicking the attentions he was currently receiving.

The world seemed to blur as their hands moved faster and faster and Nick dropped his head on to Greg's shoulder, breathing heavily and unable to concentrate on anything but the amazing sensations shooting all throughout his body. A thick warmth was coiling inside him, rushing up his spine at an alarmingly fast pace, and yet he did nothing to stop it. Instead he gave himself over to it wholly, welcoming the white light that suddenly exploded behind his eyes, blacking out his vision and cutting of his airways. Somewhere very distantly he could hear someone calling out Greg's name, and it sounded almost like his voice. Then Greg tensed below him and _his_ voice was calling Nick's name in such a sweet way that it made the older man groan even harder.

The two of them collapsed together, panting and lying still on the cool bed sheets while they tried in vain to catch their breath. Ever so slowly it dawned on Nick that he had just indulged in mild gay sex for the first time in his life. He opened his eyes in shock and stared at the exhausted man next to him for a few moments, and then he promptly burst in to laughter. Greg cracked an eyelid at him.

"I'm sure you'll get around to telling me what's so funny – sometime," he muttered. Nick smiled whimsically and shimmied across the bed to spoon up against Greg from behind.

"I'll tell you when we wake up, go to sleep G," the Texan suggested. Greg seemed to have no argument against that as he snuggled back in to Nick's chest with a warm hum. Nick smiled to himself as he thought of what Greg was going to do later when he remembered the comment that sparked everything. It hadn't even been an intended insult, just something to say to head off Catherine's bad temper. But the results that it had given him were both unexpected and most welcome. Lying here with Greg, this seemed like the most natural thing in the world. "Not exactly love at first sight, more like…love at first fight," he muttered to himself quietly.

"Hmm?" came Greg's sleepy little sigh of confusion. Nick smiled and kissed the back of his neck.

"Nothing," he assured him. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off, cheerfully anticipating the interesting conversations to come later when they both awoke.


End file.
